First Wednesday, Month 7!

Me: “I’m back physically, but mentally I’m still enjoying an Aegean swim.”

Muse (AKA The Nag): “Did you say Aegean? I thought you were going to the Ionian.”

Me: “Well, you see there was a change in plan. It’s called ‘life takes a left instead of a right,’ so there were different boats and different crews and, therefore, a different sea.”

The Muse (AKA The Nag): “Are you sure you’re not losing it?”

Me: “Somewhat sure. Listen, fella, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Here’s a picture of me pretending to write when, in fact, I’m waiting for the anchor to drop so I can jump into the water. To be very honest, I wrote not one word.”

Thanks for the picture, Jason!

The Muse (AKA The Nag): “And you call yourself a writer.”

Me: “I like the title. And who could resist jumping into this?

And, of course, after a swim I was busy eating and talking and eating some more. There may have been wine involved.

The Muse (AKA The Nag): “Ah ha! Just as I suspected. I’m stuck here minding the estate, and you’re off swimming in some exotic sea and getting snockered during the day!”

In this brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh, each month the IWSG announce a question that members can answer in their posts. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

July 3 question: What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?

I’d like to say that there’s nothing of me in the people I create, but I suppose a writer can’t avoid creating a cast that is nothing like them. So when I thought about the question, I had to admit there are bits of me that I recognize in some of my characters.

I’ve been known to be stubborn–I’d prefer to call it determined–and that trait pops up in several characters. If Shawna Stone (Sliding on the Edge) hadn’t been hugely stubborn, she wouldn’t have survived. I threw a lot at Ms. Stone in this story, and she finally fought her way through all of it.

My fears peek out at me when I think about Carlie Simon (The Princess of Las Pulgas) and she withdraws into herself when those fears become very big–my usual strategy. When I’m really scared, I disappear until I get all of that under control.

Like Cleo Brown (Sudden Secrets) I can carry around a lot of guilt about mistakes, and I used to run like she does to escape, but these days I’ve turned to hiking and yoga to help me out.

So in short, these are the traits I’ve written into some of my characters, and I’m sure I’m not alone. Can’t wait to see what others have answered this month.

There are some really good July bargains from Dancing Lemur Press.Some restrictions apply. Free swag with all direct orders. See the SITE for details.

Thirty writers entered the June WEP! Go read some and see what you think. There were many that deserve applause. But here are the stars according to the judges: Pat Hatt, Elephant’s Child , Toi There were so many great stories that I’m sure it was a difficult choice.

Quote of the Month: Compliments of The Muse (AKA The Nag) “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” Seth Godin, entrepreneur, author, speaker.

I think I have trouble settling into either reading or writing when I’m on a trip. I do read at night, but I’m usually so eager to talk to people during the day that I can’t focus on what I usually enjoy doing when I’m alone.

Sounds like you had a great trip. Love the pics! Congrats on your book making the top 10 of Stunning YA Books… I don’t think we can help writing some of our traits into our characters. We write what we know. 🙂 Good luck getting back to writing.

Hey Lee, welcome back. And it looks/sounds just like the holiday you needed. Who needs to write when you can swim/eat/drink in replay. Good for you.
Thanks for reading so many WEP entries when you returned. We’ve put up another list to replace the one the Linky tools removed. Back to InLinkz next month.

Yes, I’m sure we can’t help inserting a little bit of us into our characters.

Some muses can be so demanding! Don’t they know that time away from the keyboard can be therapeutic? And being snockered is good for the creative part of the brain. At least I think I’ve heard that somewhere. Glad you enjoyed your trip. Your muse is just jealous.

Liked how you used your own characters to explore what personal characteristics you drew from. Really liked how that vacation pulled you away from writing for a bit, despite that fine and earnest picture of you hitting the keyboard. Don’t we all benefit from a vacation from “the Nag”?

I don’t care how great your life is, sometimes you do need a break from it. And I do think that taking a break from writing actually makes you better. Stronger. It lets something lie fallow so that when you do get back to writing, you have more to work with than when you left.

Looks like it was a great vacation. You should feel no guilt for not writing.

Those inner voices are incredible nags aren’t they? I am impressed you can get yours to turn away in disgust (how ever briefly).
And, as you know, I LOVE Double Negative. I have read it several times and will read it again. And again.

Hi,
Glad you’re back.
That water in the first picture looks so good and in the second one also. I don’t know what it is, but there is something about vacationing and sailing on the European waters that is relaxing. Did you get the chance to go on land in Greece or Turkey? I hope so.
Your pictures make me want to go on vacation now. I plan to go to Italy in September and just have fun and drink some nice Italian red wine and eat Italian bread.

I have to debate Seth Godin’s quote. I don’t know many people that want to escape from their lives, except those who are in physical health or/and financial crisis, and in that aspect, it would be hard to set up a new life. Just me getting nit-picky.
It’s nice to leave (escape) your everyday surroundings for a week, though.

On a fabulous trip like yours, don’t worry about your nagging muse. She’ll come back once you’re home and you’ll have plenty of new material to keep the nag happy. 🙂
Happy 4th!

That sounds like a wonderful vacation adventure!
Although I agree in part with the quote at the end, I think there is always something to see over the horizon. Vacation is just adventure calling us onward, whether it’s to the local state park or to a different country, or a new coffee shop down the street.
Currently, my adventure is painting the interior of my house (it’s taking me forever) and later this summer, my adventures will take me to Georgia and then to dropping my daughters off at college and the airport (again, my oldest will travel abroad for school – regular life? adventure?). Life is full of adventures!

Happy July! I’m happy to see you, dear friend! It was fun reading the transcript of the post vacay feud that erupted between you and your The Muse (AKA The Nag). Looks like you had a wonderful time on the other side of the world. It was also interesting to read how some of your characters are infused with your personality traits. I agree with the Quote of the Month. The trick is to fashion a lifestyle that is so good that you aren’t constantly yearning to escape.